Victoria News

Runner finishes icy cross-country race with one shoe

Glenlyon Norfolk School student and Oak Bay native Ben Weir ran the entire cross country provincial championships with one shoe, a chilly 6.7-kilometre course over icy trails in Prince George on Nov. 2. Weir lost his left shoe when it was clipped by another runner in the first 100 metres. / Travis Paterson/News staff

As Ben Weir approached the starting line of the provincial cross country championship race in Prince George on Saturday, one thing crossed his mind.

“How to separate myself from the (300) runners. It was pretty crowded and the trail narrowed fast,” said the Oak Bay teen.

Within the first 100 metres Weir was clipped from behind and tripped to the ground. His left shoe was nearly pulled off, but not quite. Before he could adjust it, he was up and running.

“(The shoe) was half on, my heel was out, and I thought I could figure it out as I went. But that wasn’t happening, so I knocked it off.”

It was one degree celsius, with most of the 6.7 kilometre trail ahead of him. A trail consisting of ice, rocks and tree limbs, as well as some mud and snow.

Despite falling and going with one shoe, Weir surged to catch the lead pack, meaning he spent a good amount of the limited fuel a runner can expend in a race.

The 17-year-old finished second overall, 15 seconds back of winner Tim Delcourt from Surrey. When Delcourt learned what Weir went through to finish second, he tracked him down, shook his hand and gave him a hug, said Weir’s coach, Paul O’Callaghan of Glenlyon Norfolk School.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important the proper footwear is in a race,” O’Callaghan said. “We go over a lot of things before the race, footwear selection and identifying every possible scenario so you can be ready. And we even mentioned what to do if you lose a shoe.”

The key is not to panic, which is exactly what O’Callaghan shouted to Weir in their quick opportunity to chat on the first of the three laps.

“We knew at that point it was all or nothing with Delcourt getting away, so we went for it,” Weir said.

Kennel came in third, six seconds back of Weir, with Thomas Getty of Mount Douglas Secondary in seventh. All three train with Keith Butler in the elite after-school program and are headed to the national cross country club championships at Jericho Beach on Nov. 24.

Weir is currently weighing his post-secondary options as a cross country and track and field student-athlete in Canada and the U.S.A., with an eye on engineering.